Seth Suter was born in the Dorset village of Silton on 8th March 1887. One of five children, he was the son of farm labourer Seth Suter and his wife, Mary. Seth Sr died in 1899, and, by the time of the next census, his son had taken a job as a stable boy at the Silton Farm, next to where the family lived on Waterloo Road.
The 1911 census recorded Seth living with his mother at Church Cottage in the village. Now employed as a domestic gardener, three of his siblings were also living there, and, while Mary was not working, there were four wages coming in to support the family.
At the start of 1916, Seth married Jane Sissons. There is little information about her but, while the couple married in Shaftesbury, she seems to have been born in Driffield, Yorkshire. The couple would not go on to have any children.
Details of Seth’s military life are sparse. With the war entering its final months, he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry on 13th May 1918. Assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, he was sent to Ireland for training. Private Suter’s time there was not to be lengthy: he passed away through causes unknown just a month after joining up, on 12th June 1918. He was 31 years of age.
The body of Seth Suter was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Nicholas’ Church in his home village of Silton.
Seth’s younger brother Richard also served in the First World War. He joined the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment), and rose to the rank of Lance Corporal.
He was injured during the fighting to the south of Valenciennes in France, dying of his wounds on 4th November 1918, one week before the end of the war. He was laid to rest in Busigny Communal Cemetery.
Death and Service 